Nick Saban Makes His Thoughts on Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer Perfectly Clear

First-year Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer knew he had remarkably big shoes to fill when he accepted the Crimson Tide head-coaching job after Nick Saban retired after last season.

But a few months into his tenure, the reviews seem to be overwhelmingly positive about what he’s done in Tuscaloosa so far.

But what does Saban think of the job his successor is doing? Well, he spoke about that during Saturday’s “College GameDay” in College Station.

“Kalen has done a great job taking over this program because he’s got the right disposition about him, he embraced the tradition, he embraced the culture, but he put his own mark on how he wanted to coach the team,” Saban said. “I am really, really excited about what Kalen is going to do for Alabama.”

There’s plenty for Alabama fans to be excited about too — DeBoer has a track record of success.

As Pat McAfee pointed out on the “CGD” broadcast, the most losses he’s ever had in any season as a college head coach is three. In fact, his 104-12 career coaching record is among the best in college football, and his .897 win percentage is the second-best among active college coaches, behind only Grand View’s Joe Woodley (.921).

In two seasons at Washington, DeBoer led the Huskies to a 25-3 record with two bowl wins and an appearance in the College Football Playoff.

Fans will get their first glimpse of DeBoer in action when Alabama hosts Western Kentucky at 7 p.m. ET Saturday night on ESPN.